Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

We’re in the presence of royalty this week, it’s award winning actress (and phenomenal Queen Elizabeth II) Claire Foy! Mum really pulled out all the stops to make the most regal of afternoon teas for our star of 'The Crown' - homemade madeleines, mini trifles and even coronation chicken sandwiches. Claire is fresh from making her latest film 'H is for Hawk' and we heard all about the training process she went through to become a Goshawk handler. We also discover Claire is a sucker for a dessert, would love to star in Six The Musical, is always surprised when actors want to work with her, loves a Cosmo, she suffered for years with stomach parasites, loved working with Brendan Gleeson, and we discover her dream meal is her mums special home made spag bol, which has been recreated by her all over the world perfectly! Claire’s new film 'H is for Hawk’ is out in cinemas now, and it’s beautiful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have award winning actor Bryan Cranston on the podcast this week! He’s the star of Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle and is currently starring in the West End in the play All My Sons. He popped round for lunch before his show that evening. We covered everything from working with Tom Hanks, his love of TV dinners, creating a Mezcal brand with Aaron Paul, embracing his fatherly role on every set, his daily routine for London’s West End, filming The Studio with Seth Rogen & Catherine O’Hara and we hear what it was like when he tried magic mushrooms in Las Vegas during filming! Plus we hear possibly the strangest nostalgic smell any guest has ever revealed on the podcast before… Talking to Bryan was a complete delight, he has the most soothing voice and we could listen to his stories for hours. Basically he needs his own podcast! You can catch Bryan in ‘All My Sons’ at the Wyndham’s Theatre until the 7th of March, you don’t want to miss it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re joined by the ultimate dream duo Alan Carr and Amanda Holden! It’s Alan’s second time joining us on Table Manners and since we last saw him, he’s become a winning Traitor and has just released the third season of his sitcom, Changing Ends. He’s joined by his work wife Amanda, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent and is one of the leading voices on Heart Breakfast. Over lunch, we drank lots of wine and enjoyed Ixta Belfrage’s delicious Celebration Salmon while chatting about Amanda & Alan’s Greek Job, the best clubs to party in Corfu, Alan attending a lesbian festival, getting the inside scoop on both The Traitors and Britain’s Got Talent and of course, a lot of innuendos! Watch the full season of Amanda & Alan’s Greek Job on BBC iPlayer now Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are joined by the Three Lions maestro this week, comedian and writer, David Baddiel! For the man with many strings to his bow, mum made latkes which were a big hit. We spoke about his new series ‘Cat Man’ and why cats deserve more airtime, his perfect ‘Full English’, his love of curries, being kidnapped for the greatest meal of his life, his allergy to alcohol, singing karaoke with Blur and the legacy of ‘Three Lions’. David’s limited series ‘Cat Man’ is released on Channel 4 on 16th January, so don’t miss out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our first episode of 2026 and we have the wonderful broadcaster and radio presenter Emma Barnett joining us for lunch after an early morning start for her at Radio 4. Emma has actually interviewed me before (and we got quite drunk together back in 2011), and it turns out that mum & Emma’s mum went to school in Manchester many moons ago! We covered everything from her breakfast routine, nostalgic Jewish food, being a colouring-in-book entrepreneur, her endometriosis diagnosis, the amazing guests she has interviewed over the years, and we reminisce about the time she got a Conservative MP to apologise live on air for lying! What a delight to share an afternoon with Emma, one day we’ll have to take a trip to Manchester to check out the bagels together. Emma’s fab new podcast ‘Ready To Talk’ is available on BBC Sounds and all other podcast platforms now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And just like that, it’s the end of 2025! But it’s not over yet, we have the fabulous Kate Hudson to see us out of the year. Kate joined us for breakfast in the midst of a whirlwind tour for the brand new film Song Sung Blue, which is a beautifully touching film. Over breakfast, we talked about everything from making the film with Hugh Jackman, her love of a dirty martini, the family’s epic annual New Years Eve plans, being caught in the LA fires, meeting Neil Diamond, when the perfect age is to watch Overboard, and we discover that Kate’s Italian family come from mafia roots! What a way to end the year, thank you for popping round Kate, hope you have a fabulous 2026! Kate’s new film Song Sung Blue is released in cinemas on New Year's Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Christmas Eve and we’re sitting down with a glass of champagne to listen to the Queen’s (Lennie) speech. We're joined by some of our lovely listeners from around the world to hear about their Christmas traditions and answer their questions. We cover everything from Christmas games, desserts, roast potatoes, mulled wine, cocktails, oven space hacks and the age old debate of Yorkshire puddings at Christmas! Plus you may hear from a few friends of the podcast along the way, including Cheryl, Kadiff Kirwan, Benny Blanco & more. Wishing all of our fabulous listeners (and watchers!) a very Merry Christmas wherever you are! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have the thriller King joining us this week, international bestseller, Harlan Coben! You’ll find all his books in stores worldwide, and now his TV series are taking the world by storm on Netflix. His latest series 'Run Away’ also stars multiple previous guests of the podcast (James Nesbitt, Ruth Jones & Minnie Driver), and it’s gripping from start to the end! Mum was in love with Harlan from the moment he walked through the door. We discussed his writing process, his love of Bruce Springsteen, growing up in New Jersey and his mum being a terrible cook, writing ‘Gone Before Goodbye’ with Reese Witherspoon, his iconic Thanksgiving bagel party, and how his lead character Myron Bolitar is very much based on himself! Harlan’s new series ‘Run Away’ is released globally on Netflix on 1st January - don’t miss it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have chef & Instagram sensation John Gregory-Smith on the podcast this week! John brought round the most delicious monkfish curry and beef coconut rice from his brand new traybake cookbook, and mum made a gorgeous pear and chocolate tart for pud. We laughed non-stop with John - he told us about training to cook with Gordon Ramsey, his absolute love of Christmas, how to make the perfect festive gravy, eating his way round the Middle East, the ultimate kitchen gadgets, when Delia Smith introduced him to pesto, and why East 17 play a very important part in his family’s Christmas traditions! Thank you for the most delicious lunch John, that recipe is absolutely going straight on the regular meal list! John’s brand new cook book ‘The Greatest Traybake Cookbook ever’ is released on the 29th January, and available to pre-order now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The absolutely divine Da’Vine Joy Randolph joins us on the podcast this week! The Oscar winning actress joined us in the midst of her global promo run for the brand new film Eternity, which coincidentally also stars friends of the podcast Callum Turner & Elisabeth Olsen! Da’Vine has to be one of our most foodie guests, we could have talked about eating and drinking for hours. We also discovered that London feels like her second home, that she has a seltzer water addiction, that she loves a sticky toffee pudding, what filming The Holdovers was like and she reveals that she has dumped men over their bad food choices at restaurants! This is surely the first of many meals we’ll share with Da’Vine, what a lovely lunchtime treat! Eternity is out in cinemas in the USA now, and UK on the 5th December. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have star of stage and screen, acting legend and national treasure Bill Nighy joining us on the podcast this week! Fresh from creating his brand new podcast ‘ill advised by Bill Nighy’ - where he is an agony uncle - we sat down with Bill for lunch. Mum even made his favourite dish - pasta puttanesca. We found out that Bill was a Mod in his youth, how he feels about the success of Love Actually, the time he scammed tourists on the streets of Paris, why he prefers to eat meals alone and how he must add as much spice as possible to every meal he eats! What a total delight to have a meal with Bill, we could have chatted for hours and hours. Bill’s fabulous podcast ‘ill advised by Bill Nighy' is available to listen to everywhere now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a first ever for the podcast, this week both mum & I managed to forget to cook…Fortunately our guest Josh Widdicombe was actually stuck on a train during a tube strike and we had time to get it all sorted. When Josh finally made it to my house, we covered everything from how 'The Last Leg' was formed, his thoughts on school events, WhatsApp groups, eating his parents famous ‘Hippy Stew’, spicy food and how it’s his role at home to keep a tight control on the fridge! We also heard all about how he put together his brand new comedy tour ‘Not My Cup of Tea’ which is on the road until May 2026. It sounds brilliant, you don’t want to miss it! Thank you Josh for schlepping up from Devon, we loved having you join us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode we welcome musician and songwriter, Marcus Mumford! We chatted to Marcus in the lead up to brand new Mumford & Sons music and what sounds like an incredible 2026 for the band. Over steak tagliata, we talked about performing at Glastonbury, living in Devon, surfing in Malibu, the church his parents set up, his beloved Wimbledon AFC, and we hear all about Taylor Swift using his studio in Devon to finish her album. Thank you Marcus for travelling across the country to join us for dinner, wishing you all the best ❤️ Mumford & Sons’ new album ‘Prizefighter’ is out February 13th, and features collaborations with Gracie Abrams, Chris Stapleton & Hozier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re honoured to welcome award winning activist Malala Yousafzai onto the podcast this week! We sat down and talked with Malala about her incredible stories from her brand new book ‘Finding My Way’. We covered her thoughts on cooking, going clubbing in Oxford, being ghosted, her love of Taylor Swift, food memories from Pakistan, her first experience of people with a hangover and what it was like to become a Nobel Peace Prize winner at the age of 17. This is such a special episode with an incredible lady, we could have chatted for hours! Malala’s new book ‘Finding My Way’ is available everywhere now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are few people I’d move my birthday plans for, but when we heard Jeremy Allen White was in town, we said ‘yes, chef!’.He’s the superstar face of The Bear and is now playing 'The Boss', Bruce Springsteen, in the brand new film ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’. Mum rustled up her foolproof onion quiche, I made an Autumn salad from NYT cooking and we sat down for lunch with Jeremy. We heard all about his favourite places to eat in London, New York & Chicago, filming The Bear and cooking for his co-stars, having his eyes painted to play Bruce, bulking up for Iron Claw, cooking for his kids, how he got the acting bug and we find out if a musical or rom-com may be on the cards in the future. Jeremy’s new film ’Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ is in cinemas now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are truly honoured to host legendary music icon, Gloria Estefan this week. Fresh into London from Miami, Gloria joined us for lunch which we really wish could have lasted all day and night. We found out about her family escaping Cuba during the revolution, her legendary Cosmo recipe, working with her beloved husband Emilio, owning a hotel & restaurant in Miami and we discover what it is like performing to five US presidents (and who served the best food). I grew up listening to her music and was completely enthralled by everything she had to say. We could do this with Gloria every day and never get bored, she’s a superstar and the absolute perfect dinner party guest with endless fabulous stories! Mark my words Gloria, we will come and see you in Miami soon, thank you for popping round to Clapham. Gloria’s new album Raíces is out now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We welcome Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids icon Maya Rudolph on the podcast this week! Over a delish chicken schnitzel we talk all about Maya working with The Fonz, being part of a Wendy’s dynasty, stealing Molly’s wardrobe from the set of Loot, her love of London, her thoughts on Marmite and we’re even treated to Maya’s brilliant impression of Kate Moss! What an absolute delight it was to cook for you Maya, thank you for popping round to New Cross! Series 3 of Loot is available to stream now on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We had the most gorgeous night celebrating the launch of Series 18 of Table Manners at Brunswick House! Thank you to all the fabulous guests for joining us for a delicious dinner cooked by chef Jackson Boxer, and the fabulous Moth cocktails too - the best canned Espresso Martini & Margs out there! Big shout out to the beautiful Park Hyatt London River Thames for treating us to balloons, an actual leopard print cake, and a gorgeous suite for us to get our glam on too. What a treat to get to keep talking to such fab podcast guests each week and to still be making this 18 series in! x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re joined by British acting royalty - in every sense of the word - it’s the newly knighted Sir Gary Oldman! Mum & I popped over to the Dorchester in London where Gary treated us to his (and Jackson Lamb’s) very favourite Chinese meal.We heard all about his life in Palm Springs, his mum’s cooking, growing up in New Cross, playing Lee Harvey Oswald, living in an empty hotel, the future of Slow Horses and we hear an incredibly touching story of his friendship with the late John Hurt. Thank you Gary for such a delightful afternoon, what a treat to eat and chat with such an icon. The new fifth series of Slow Horses is now streaming on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back, it’s Series 18 and as well as listening to us, you can now watch our full episodes on YouTube! We’re back with the one and only Reese Witherspoon! The Oscar winning actress popped round to Clapham for a roast with all the trimmings and we loved every minute. We heard all about her love of PG Tips, living in Nashville, becoming a Swedish Narwhal for her kids at story time, filming The Morning Show, what it was like being a mother to 34 piglets in Sing, drinking a green smoothie every morning and we heard the secret to the best cookie. What a total treat to have Reese kick off series 18 with us, we can’t wait to go cowboy boot shopping with her in Nashville! The brand new series of The Morning Show is now streaming on Apple TV+. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.